I put my nose up against Pisky"s: "And she"s not having you," I added, but he was not listening either.
"There now, that"s better!" said Lady Rowena, at last, patting a precarious pile. "And now-why, I don"t even know your names! A handsome knight and a pretty young lady, a king among fish and-ah, yes! I thought so: a little cat, and so dainty, too . . . There must be a story to tell here . . . Now, come: I have quite lost interest in a trip to town; we must all go back to the castle and have some refreshment. My husband must see the fish! You, dear child, squeeze up beside me in the litter . . ."
And so, without going willingly at all, resisting her blandishments in my mind, I nevertheless found myself being carried back to the castle among the crumbs and scattered cushions, with a suspicious Moglet on my lap and Pisky"s bowl cradled in hers. She chattered all the way to the keep, and although she asked questions she never quite waited for all the answers and by the time we were introduced to her husband, the lord of the manor of Warwek, she had twisted our names to Connie (me) and Flint.
Sir Ranulf was as tall, thin and cadaverous as his wife was short, plump and rosy, but his eyes were brown and kind. "Now then, Rosie dear, don"t bewilder the young people . . ."
"Now, would I! But see here, Ranny darling, what the young lady has brought with her!" She exhibited Pisky, who was now beside himself, aware that all eyes were admiring. He pranced and danced, curved and pirouetted, rose and sank, fluted his fins and tail and pouted and gasped, till I muttered that he would run out of air.
"Shan"t! But I want to see the water she talked about. Ask them, ask them, Thing dear! Please!"
I knew I had lost the battle as soon as they led us to the lake. It was large and calm, its northern side some hundred paces from the castle, shallow, reed- fringed waters dipping to a deep centre. On the eastern side were thick trees, to the south a smooth hillock and to the west the land sloped gently away.
There were water lilies, a little artificial island, an arch of rocks, again artificial, and the water was warm and clear. A moorhen with her half-grown chicks swam away from the reeds at our approach and two black swans, younglings, curved to their high-winged reflections.
"Down in there," said the Lady Rowena, pointing down into the water, "there are twenty-five a.s.sorted fish, including three young golden carp princesses.
My collection . . . It is mating-time now, and the water is the right temperature . . ." and she knelt down and pulled up her sleeve, testing the lake with her elbow, just like a nurse trying the water for a babe.
Sir Ranulf stood watching her, twirling the ends of his moustache. "Loves "em, you know. Never had any children . . . Pity. Spends all her time caring for the fish. Feeds "em every evening, rain or shine. Designed all this herself.
Been looking for one like yours for years. Pride of her collection and all that.
Still . . ."
"Now then," she said, "I should love him above all the others; I can"t help thinking of those carp princesses waiting too . . . They are a little larger, being females, and they usually spend their time near the western bank, under the lily-leaves, just hoping . . . But I could never try to persuade these darlings to part with him against their will!"
"It"s his decision," I said, knowing all the while what that decision would be, for he was leaping about now like something possessed. "Oh, Pisky, dear one, is this what you really want?"
"Lemme see first," he said, and gently I lowered his bowl to the waters and with a flash of silver belly he was gone. We waited for five minutes, for ten, for twenty . . . Oh, Pisky! I prayed for his return, I prayed for him not to like it, for disillusion to overcome the invitation of the lake. Conn looked at me, and in his expression I read that I was wrong.
"It"s right, Fleur love," he said, and at that moment Pisky"s head popped out of the water at my feet.
"Oh, Thing dear, you"ve no idea how beautiful it is! Everything laid on! There are waters deep and cool, waters shallow and warm and a veritable underwater garden to exclusive design, with tall sp.a.w.ning-trees just to fin!
And I found them, the lady fish: they are a beginning, a beginning! Oh, dear one, my father, my grandfather, my uncles, my great-grandfather-they never had it so good! A fish could be happy here for a hundred years, he could found a generation that would last a thousand . . ."
I turned to Lady Rowena. "He wants to stay," I said, and my throat tightened on the words, thick with unshed tears. "A gift for your birthday."
Her face lightened with joy, and she bent to tickle Pisky"s chin, very gently.
"Bless you, King Carp!"
"Can I?"
"Pisky," I said. "You don"t have to ask . . ."
"Good manners . . ."
"Yes," I said. "You always had those . . . Oh, Pisky, are you sure?"
"Sure as snails . . . Which reminds me: can I have them, please?"
I submerged his bowl in the water. "There; let them crawl out in their own good time."
"Now. I am king of the lake!" And, sure enough, the bowl was empty in double-quick time as I teased out the last of the weed.
"There, dear one . . ."
"Thanks . . ." He whirled away, but in a moment he was back, balancing on his tail. "It was a tremendous experience, wasn"t it? I rode the winds with a dragon . . . Bless you both, and you, cat. I love you. Remember me!" and he was away, lost forever to me beneath the water of his lake. I plucked the sparrow feather from Conn"s jacket and stuck it in the earth at the water"s edge.
"I love you, too," I said unsteadily. "The waters give you peace . . . And all creatures that swim the waters shall be my concern and that of my children and theirs for evermore . . ."
But from then on it was as if I had forgotten how to speak to his kindred, and I could never again, as long as I lived, converse with them as once I had done.
They asked us to stay at the castle that night, and the Lady Rowena found me a gold pin and a pearl necklace she wanted me to have, but we pleaded urgent travel and refused both hospitality and gifts, and left them with her searching for ant"s eggs for her "children" and spent the night in the nearest hostelry. I could not bear the thought of being so near to Pisky as to want to go and scoop him back into his bowl . . .
"Do you think he"s all right?"
"The best of them all, so far." I didn"t like the last two words. "He"s found his kingdom. Be glad for him!"
"Oh, I am, I am!" I said, the stupid tears pressing hard behind my eyes, all the while cuddling my beloved Moglet, who had whispered earlier: "I"ll never, ever leave you!"
"But I do miss him!"
"That"s not what you said when you had to carry him all those miles without spilling!" said Conn.
"That was different." And it was. "He will-he will live for seventy years?"
"And found a dynasty. All of whom will be exactly like him, down to the smallest tiddler who, in hundreds of years to come, will bore his great-great- great-grandchildren with the tale of his great-great-great-grandfather who spoke to dragons and, for a little while, carried a Dragon-Pearl . . ."
"You"re laughing at me!"
"Perhaps just a little . . . But think of it rationally, Thingy-sorry, I just can"t get used to the "Fleur" bit after all this time-if you can. Three creatures: a toad, happily basking in the sun in the company of his friends, and probably already having contributed to the increase of the toad population, is sitting with his eyes shut digesting some horrible insect, and remembering happily his moment of glory with the Walking Trees; he"s home, and has no more headaches . . . Then there"s that great crow, soaring happily over the cliffs somewhere, enjoying the feel of the wind under his once-crippled wing; remembering, too, his part in the White Wyrme adventure; beneath him, somewhere, his mate is on the eggs that will produce other Corbys. He is fulfilled. And Pisky: his own kingdom, able to eat what he wants, when he wants, a harem attendant on every wish, and memories of a dragon, and of rescuing you from that thing in the water-Dear Christ, girl, let them be! It"s just selfishness to want them back!"
"I know," I said, cuddling Moglet tight. "I know . . ."
The Loosing: Cat A Gain and a Loss In the morning Conn declared his intention of going to buy a horse. "We"re travelling too slowly."
"To where?"
"How should I know? The way The Ancient pointed us."
"But why the haste?"
"I don"t know that, either. I just feel that something is waiting. And . . ." He hesitated again.
"Well?"
"Today I am going to buy a horse."
So we went to the market, held in the square. How he knew, I do not know, but it was the monthly horse-trading fair and we dodged hooves as they were trotted up and down, some still s.h.a.ggy with winter. There was no other stock; on inquiry I found that apparently one week it was fowl and pigs, the second sheep and goats, the third cattle and the fourth horses. I left Conn watching the trading and wandered among the other stalls, Moglet under my cloak, buying eggs, salt, cheese, bread, honey and my needles and thread. I found some excellent cured pork and bought a small sack of oatmeal; it would hardly fit in my hard-pressed haversack, but I reckoned if Conn found a horse we should have saddlebags as well.
I reached the pens where the last of the horses were being held; there were a few left, the dregs by the look of it, but I glanced at them all, nevertheless. One never knew-Perhaps, that one in the corner . . . A pale mare, filthy dirty, with matted mane and tangled, soiled tail, her ribs sticking through her coat; unclipped, uncared for. I moved over, pushing the others aside, and pulled a tuft of gra.s.s from the stones outside the pen.
"Here, girl . . ." She did not raise her head. I coaxed. "Here my beauty . . ." The Roman nose lifted, dark brown eyes regarded me steadily, warm breath blew in my face. "So it"s Beauty, is it? Here, take it . . ." Gently she lipped the gra.s.s, no s.n.a.t.c.hing. I studied the collar marks that had seared the skin, the missing slashes of hair on the rump where the switches had bitten deep. "Here, Beauty, let"s see . . ." I took the jaw and opened the mouth; six, seven years old, no more. She blew at me again, searching for response. "I can"t talk your language, sorry . . ." But I blew back gently and brushed aside the ragged forelock, then slipped into the pen beside her, to run my hands down her legs, lift the hooves to look for rot, try the lameness test, legs held bent tight for a minute. She was basically sound, as far as I could see, but had been badly neglected, was weak with winter fasting and hard work. I had hooked my haversack over the nearest post, now I popped Moglet on top. "Keep an eye open; I"ll be back in a minute."
Conn was watching a rangy chestnut being run up and down, all rolling eyes and flaring nostrils, ears laid back.
"Mettle, yes, but temper too. Did you find anything?"
He turned. "Was outbid on quite a nice grey, but I decided I would only pay twenty silver pieces top, and he went for twenty-two. You don"t think this one . . . ?".
"No," I said firmly. "All fire and no heart; short-winded too, I shouldn"t be surprised. Come on, I"ve found one to show you." I dragged him back to the pen and led him over to the corner. "See? There"s a good horse lost under all that hair. She"s been hard-used, but with a little feeding-up . . ."
"She wouldn"t carry your kitten, let alone you or me! She"s clapped-out!"
I leant forward and pulled at her halter. "You"re not, are you, Beauty?"
"Beauty?" He managed to make it sound utterly ridiculous.
"Yes, Beauty." The mare gave a soft whinny and lipped at Conn"s sleeve. He moved back, frowning, then suddenly leant forward and pulled aside her forelock.
"I don"t believe it! I-just-don"t-believe-it . . ."
I pulled at his sleeve. "Don"t believe what?"
"Look here-there, on her forehead. Yes, there . . ."
There was a silvery patch arranged in a peculiar radiating whorl.
"Is that special?"
But Conn was dancing around like a mad thing. "Special? I"ll say it is! And of course she"s Beauty, you were right there. When I got her in the Low-Lands she was booty, and that"s what I called her: "Booty" or "Beauty." Seems she still knows her name. She ran off when-" He stopped abruptly.
"When the witch . . . ?" I prompted.
"Yes. Well-The horse got frightened by her fireworks and I never thought to see her again. Yet, here she is. I"m sure of it." He s.n.a.t.c.hed a wizened apple from my pack and offered it to Beauty, who again took it gently and scrunched it happily, allowing him to pa.s.s his hands all over her. "Hmm . . . a bit of muscle strain in the right shoulder. No problem. Well, well, well . . ."
"You"re sure it"s her?"
"Quite. Here"s the little knot in her shoulder where she was nicked by an arrow just before I got her. How"s my old Booty, then?" and the beast nuzzled his shoulder only to start back nervously, flinging her head up, as a diminutive man came and perched himself on the pen rails.
"Thinking of buying "er, then?" He had a cold. "Shouldn"t. Not with "er "istory.
Three owners already from "ereabouts she"s "ad, and not a one satisfied. No good to none of them, she"s been. Some feller east of here found "er eighteen months back, tried "er with the plough-"
"The plough!" snorted Conn.
"No good," continued the snuffly little man, nodding his head. "Got a good price for "er though, none knowing "er "istory. Second feller, Wyngalf, tried putting her in shafts: no good. Still got a decent price, "cos she were a looker, then. Peterkin"s "ad "er overwinter-couldn"t even put "er to "is stallion, she weren"t "aving none. No good for anything, if you asks me . . ."
"Perhaps not round here," said Conn, sarcastically. He ran his hand over the scarce-healed weals on her quarters. "Doesn"t look to have been well- treated."
"That Peterkin"s a violent man, "e is. "Eard "im say as "e"d carve "er up for meat "imself if she didn"t fetch ten of silver . . ."
"Well," said Conn. "In spite of what you say, I"ve a mind to her."
The man jumped down from the rails. "Don"t say as I didn"t warn you, then."
He shuffled off, then looked back. ""E"ll ask fifteen, but"ll take ten . . ."
Conn tossed him a coin. "Thanks for the advice. Get something for that cold of yours . . ."
We got her for the ten pieces of silver: no one else was interested beyond knacker"s price. Afterwards Conn bought second-hand bridle, saddle and saddle-bags cheaply and led her to the nearest stables to give her a rub down, clean and file her hooves, curry her mane and tail and bed her down with oats and a bran-mash. "We"ll spend another night here," he said cheerfully. "Give her time to get used to the saddle again tomorrow. See if the inn can put us up again, will you?"
"I"ll leave the haversack with you, then," I said, setting it down. "And come back and let you know. Come on, Moglet . . . Moglet? Oh, Conn! I"ve lost Moglet!"
He stopped rubbing Beauty down, hearing the anxiety in my voice. "She was with us at the pens, because she hopped off the haversack when I gave Booty that apple. Don"t worry, she can"t have gone far. Just got lost in the bustle, I expect. She"ll turn up."
Frantic, I ran back to where the horses had been corralled: no kitten-cat. I wasted time asking pa.s.sers-by whether they had seen her; some were sympathetic, others just stared or tapped their foreheads significantly. I asked at every open doorway I could find, but still no cat. There were a couple of tabbies, a black and white, a ginger torn, but no multicoloured striped/brindled/spotted cat like Moglet. At last, almost crying, I went back to the stables, where I found that Conn had spread out some sacking in a corner and laid out bread, pies and ale.
"No inn tonight. Too late to get a decent lodging," he said, seeing from my face how miserable I felt. "We"ll have a bite to eat and then I"ll have a look with you for that wretched animal of yours." He was only teasing with the "wretched," I knew that, but I couldn"t stop myself.
"You don"t care about her!" I sobbed. "You don"t care about me, either! Now you"ve got that-that wretched horse of yours back again all you can think about is going off adventuring! You don"t need us anymore . . ."
"Don"t be silly!" He was quite sharp with me, a fact that set me wailing again.
"Of course I care; but she"ll be back-and, if not, don"t you think she might have found something she wants to do, somewhere she wants to go? She"s got the use of her paw back now and this town is full of nooks and crannies where mice hide out. She"s probably out hunting her dinner-"
"She may have been stolen!"
"Why on earth would anyone want to steal a scrawny little sc.r.a.p like that? Be sensible!"
But I didn"t want to be sensible, all the more so because although he had been quick to a.s.sert that he did care about Moglet, he still hadn"t mentioned me . . .
I ran out into the street, darkening now, with shadows deep in the alleyways.
"Moglet! Moglet!"
A little figure, tail high in greeting, came running down the centre of the road.
"I"m here: stop shouting!"
I scooped her up into my arms, my heart beating more wildly than hers, and now that I had her safe I scolded her like a mother who has s.n.a.t.c.hed her child from under the hooves of a runaway horse, anger proportionate with relief.
"You"re naughty! Where on earth have you been? You had me worried sick- didn"t you hear me calling?"